Nirbhaya case: Magistrate testifies in juvenile trial

Updated: Wednesday, March 6, 2013, 18:40 [IST]

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New Delhi, March 6: The Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), who had recorded the statement of the December 16 Delhi gangrape victim (Nirbhaya), today testified before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) here.

However, the male friend of the victim, who was the sole eyewitness to the incident, did not turn up for recording of his statement before the JJB citing personal reasons.

In a related development, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Yogesh Khanna, trying the case of five adult accused, recorded the statement of four police officials who had collected the evidence in the case, including seizing of the bus in which the crime was committed, and the belongings of the victim and her friend.

The four policemen had also collected the clothes of the five accused bus driver Ram Singh and his brother Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Singh and the juvenile.

The case against the five accused is being heard on a daily basis in the fast-track court from which the media and public have been barred. The paramedic student was brutally assaulted in a moving bus by six persons which included the minor too. The juvenile is being tried separately before the Board.

The victim was shifted to a Singapore hospital for treatment where she succumbed to her injuries on December 29.

The judicial officer, who had recorded the statement of the 23-year-old girl at Safdarjung hospital here, deposed as a prosecution witness before JJB Board presided by Principal Magistrate Geetanjali Goel.

The Board had on February 28 framed gangrape and murder The Board had on February 28 framed gangrape and murder besides various other charges under IPC against the minor who pleaded not guilty and claimed trial in the case.

SDM Usha Chaturvedi, who appeared before the JJB, deposed that she had recorded the statement of the girl who at that point of time was in very critical condition. The male friend of the victim, through his counsel, sought exemption from recording his statement today and the Board has now fixed March 15 for recording his testimony.